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Petition Calls for San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge To Be Named After Emperor Norton

San Francisco-based writer John Lumea has launched a Change.org petition to rename the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge the “Emperor Norton Bay Bridge,” after the 19th century San Francisco eccentric and self-proclaimed “Emperor of the United States,” Joshua Abraham Norton. Emperor Norton issued many imperial decrees over the years, including a rather farsighted proclamation demanding that a bridge and tunnel be built between Oakland and San Francisco (the Bay Bridge and Transbay Tube now connect the two cities). It’s not the first time someone has proposed naming the bridge after Norton—a 2004 proposal was approved by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors before fizzling.